Today was another good day. We woke up around 6:00 at Cache Creek, BC and decided to hit the road around 7:30 AM. On our way into town we decided to gas up. This seems to be a recurring thing on the way to Alaska. Even though we haven’t started out on the Alaska Highway (AlCan) yet, we make sure the gas tank doesn’t go below the half-way mark. I guess we’re getting in practice for, not only the AlCan, but also the Cassiar Hwy. on my way back to the lower 48.
Today was a really nice and enjoyable day of driving. We only drove 356 miles today; from Cache Creek to Whisker Point Provincial Park on McLeod Lake along Highway 97. It was only a 6 hour drive. We stopped in 100 Mile House and bought a few items at Safeway before hitting a Tim Horton’s for donuts and coffee. From there, we continued our drive through the northern BC countryside, admiring the quaint towns (They call them Villages in Canada.) and countryside. We passed many lakes was well as followed the Fraser River. It rained for several hours throughout the day, but that didn’t deter us from enjoying everything.
We stopped for a late lunch in a Provincial Park. Rather than try and find a restaurant anywhere, we drove off the road into a park and made sandwiches from the back of the Little Guy. Luckily, it had stopped raining and the air was fresh and clear.
I had made overnight reservations at Whisker Point Provincial Park about 3 hours outside of Dawson Creek. We rolled in to the park around 3:15 and found that our site #8 was occupied. The occupants weren’t anywhere to be found, so I looked at their reservation and noticed that were supposed to be in #7. Rather than blow a gasket, we just decided to take #7 and leave it at that. When they returned I pointed out the problem and (in a typical Canadian fashion) they were apologetic and said they would change with us. The park attendant told them the site was vacant until tomorrow. I told them things would be fine and they could stay there. When the park attendant came to collect I told her the problem and that I had already paid for #8. She was embarrassed and said the computer (or her boss) had made the mistake and that she would refund my $20. I told her, “No problem. We have a great spot and I don’t need a refund.” I should also point out that the couple that was in our assigned spot were equally embarrassed and invited me, Mike, and Tom to their house in Prince George (on our return trip) to their house for a BBQ and wine. They gave me their names, house phone number and cell phone to make sure they would be around when we return. That’s how a lot of the people here in British Columbia are; friendly and hospitable. Once we told them of our trip up to Alaska and back, they were sharing side trips that we should take to make the trip more memorable along the Cassiar Hwy.
I received a text from Michigan Mike tonight and see that they are in Dawson Creek, We’ll meet up with them about 11:00 tomorrow and start our trip up the Alaska Highway. Although we have no reservations for tomorrow night we’re looking at camping at Sikanni Chief on Hwy. 97 N. That would allow us to spend a couple of hours in the Liard Hot Springs the next day. We’ll just have to see how things go. One thing about the Journey to Alaska is that there’s nothing definite. Things could change in a minutes. We’ll keep you posted.